Cauli Mac N Cheese Slimming Weight Watchers Friendly Food

CAULI MAC 'N' CHEESE | SLIMMING & WEIGHT WATCHERS FRIENDLY

Steps:

• Bring a pan of water to boil.
• Spray a frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and fry the bacon for a few minutes until crisp. Place on a plate and set to one side.
• Put 1/4 of the cauliflower aside and blitz the remaining 3/4 of the cauliflower until it looks like cauliflower rice. Place the blitzed cauliflower to one side.
• Wipe out your frying pan, spray with low calorie cooking spray and then sauté the onion and garlic on a medium heat.
• Once the onion begins to brown, mix in the blitzed cauliflower.
• Make up the stock and, alongside the mustard powder, add to the frying pan. Turn the heat down so that the pan is gently simmering and simmer for around 15 minutes.
• Add the pasta to the pan of water and cook as per the instructions on the packet. 5 minutes before the end of the cook time, add the remaining pieces of cauliflower that you set aside earlier (not the blitzed cauliflower!).
• Once the pasta and cauliflower are cooked, drain well, reserving a few tablespoons of the water in a cup. Return to the pan and set aside.
• Mix together the cheddar and parmesan.
• Stir the cream cheese into the cauliflower mix, alongside half of the cheddar and parmesan. Tip the whole mix into a blender and then blitz until smooth (it should be the consistency of cheese sauce). This might take a couple of minutes. If your sauce is too thick, then just add a little of the pasta water that you reserved earlier to thin it out a little.
• Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir in the tablespoon of buffalo sauce and the cooked bacon.
• Pour into an ovenproof dish and sprinkle the remaining parmesan and cheddar mix evenly over the top.
• Place under a hot grill until the cheese has melted and is golden brown.

CAULI-MACARONI CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta, stir well, bring back to the boil and then cook, uncovered, for a couple of minutes. Tip in the cauliflower florets, bring back to the boil again and cook for a further 8-10 minutes until both the pasta and the cauliflower are tender but still firm to the bite. Drain well. Preheat a hot grill.
• Add the crème fraîche, mustard and all but a good handful of the cheese to the pasta pan. Stir over a low heat until the cheese just starts to melt. Tip the pasta and cauliflower into the cheese sauce and gently stir together. Season and transfer to a flameproof dish.
• Scatter the tomatoes over the top followed by the rest of the cheese and some pepper. Grill for about 5 minutes until browned and bubbling.

CAULI CHEESE MACARONI

Steps:

• Heat the grill to its highest setting and bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta for 4 mins, then add the cauliflower for a further 8 mins. Drain, reserving 100ml of the cooking water.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat and stir in the flour. Slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Bubble for a few mins, then remove from the heat. Add the cheese, the reserved cooking water and seasoning to taste.
• Tip the pasta and cauliflower into a large casserole dish and stir through the cheese sauce. Mix together the garlic, breadcrumbs and thyme, and scatter over the top. Grill for 2-3 mins until bubbling.